I get it. Not everyone has the time, space, or even knack for having a garden. In addition, even with all of the above, it's rare to have the where with all to grow everything needed for an entire year.
Even our best laid plans, here on the homestead, have set backs. We just recently lost 5 chickens being raised for food in one way or another; one hen and 4 roosters. The hen would've supplied eggs, and the roosters would've supplied meat. Despite all the care they received, and the fact they were on fresh grass; an opportunistic infection, found in the ground took them out. This infection works very fast. We lost 4 in 24 hours. It also tends to attack younger birds. These were 8 weeks old. We'd figured out what was wrong and started them on the medicine to treat. We thought the 5th one, a rooster, would make it. He lasted longer, but finally gave in. The medicine was in their water, and we think he hung back to give the two hens access. Either that or he was just too far gone. Well, or both for that matter. The two hens did make it and are growing fine.
There's always disease, fungus, or other parasites lurking around a garden, fruit trees, and animals. Thanks Adam and Eve. God did say " by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" (Gen 3:19), and he wasn't kidding. It's work to get a harvest, and so we're always grateful for anything we're able to put up.
With all that being said, and with all we are able to put away, we still have to go to a grocery store to buy things. There are things we can avoid entirely; things we need a little of, and things we buy regularly. It is what it is. It's HOW you shop that becomes the important thing at that point. Know your prices, know your seasons, use your skill sets, buy in bulk, mark downs are your friend, store for a rainy day, and stretch what you buy.
1) Know your prices - Now there are a variety of ways to do this. Find one that works for you. For example; Keeping a price book is an option, but I don't have time for that. Some do. What works for one, may or may not work for someone else. Find a way that works for you to keep track of how much things cost. This means paying attention to prices, price per ounce, and sales. What works for me is having a "Ball park" price. For instance I know boneless skinless chicken breast is "ball park" $1.99 per pound in my area. That's the average run of the mill price. I rarely will pay more than that, but I also know that anything below that is a decent sale. Anything really below that is an awesome sale and I stock up. Price comparison is part of this as well. This week there's a store in my area with 80% lean ground beef for $1.99 lb. They're also offering a coupon for $1 off every $10 spent on ground beef. This makes the ground beef around $1.82 lb. Lately I've been buying ground turkey for $1.89 lb. because it was my cheapest option. Now it isn't. The ground beef is my cheapest option now. Definite win because my family actually prefers beef. We just can't afford it all the time. Will I stock up on this? You betcha!
Also, remember, just because it's a bigger package, doesn't mean it's a better deal. Bulk doesn't always go with budget. This is where Price per Ounce is important. For instance, that same store, this week, has the store brand of the dental pics (flossers) on sale plus a coupon. I found that I can get these 90 count bags for cheaper than buying the 150 count at a competitor store. This is more of a "Price per each", but the same theory applies. Pay close attention to the price per ounce; even with items on sale. Check the other sizes and brands of the same product to make sure the sale price is the best price. It isn't always. Stores want to lure you in and get you to spend. That's their side of the battle. Our part of the battle is keeping them from taking too much of our money. There've been times I've seen an item on sale and, knowing my prices, know at a glance it's cheaper elsewhere.
2) Know your seasons- Seasons aren't just winter, spring, summer, and fall; although they do have some bearing on this discussion. Seasons can also mean Holidays or even sale cycles. Holidays are self explanatory. Sale cycles are the number of weeks between an item being on a good sale at a particular store. There are certain items that are cheaper depending on the season of the year and/or cycle of a store.
Winter- Anything Christmas (Baking, Candy, Hams), New Year( weight loss items lol), Valentines day( Candy, Roses, Steaks), cool weather crops ( of fruits and veggies). Oranges, Grapefruit or other citus.
Spring- St Patrick's day (corn beef, potatoes, cabbage), Easter( Eggs, Ham, Candies, celery, Baking items). Strawberries, Grapes, Cool Weather Veggies are cheap thru May
Summer- Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor day( hotdogs, condiments, chips, Pretty much anything grilling). Fresh Corn, Squashes, Pepper, Tomatoes, pretty much warm weather crops are your friend). Blueberries are big around this time. Peaches are cheap right now.
Fall- Halloween, Thanksgiving( Candy, Baking needs, Turkeys, Sweet Potatoes, celery, Potatoes, Broth, Stuffing, Canned pumpkin, Evaporated Milk, Butter, Nuts, Coffee, Apples.)
These things aren't a good buy just because of the holidays. When it comes to produce, it's because this is the time of year these items are being harvested and are in large supply. They will be the freshest, ripest compared to any other time of year. This means they are the most nutritious and tasty. When these seasons come around would be the time to stock up on the great prices you find. This year our blueberry bushes got zapped by a late late freeze. Like a 3rd week in April freeze. That doesn't happen around here. It did this year. We got maybe a cup of blueberries, total. However, while they were in season, a store in our area had Blueberries for 1.32 a lb.! I bought many and froze them, just like I would have with our very own berries. In season strawberries were .99 lb. recently and I put up about 12 lbs. of those. Our strawberries didn't do much either this year. Buying these things at the lowest price and freezing, drying or even canning them for later use is a great way to stretch your grocery dollar and give your family in season produce at a much cheaper cost. This coming Thanksgiving season I'll buy celery at a good price and dehydrate it for use during the year. Celery can also be frozen very easily.
As for sale cycles, they're usually every 6 weeks. In addition, you will find the best sales happen the second and forth week of a month. Majority of folks get paid on the 1st and 15th of the month. They will go shopping then anyway. So if the 1st or 15th falls into a sale flyer week, it's usually not a great ad. The best sales ads fall in the weeks between those 1st and 15th weeks, and are the ones where the store is enticing people in. Exceptions to this rule I guess would be around a holiday.
***As an aside, Remember this term- Loss Leader. Loss leaders are usually found on the front page of a grocery ad. These are items the store is taking a loss on in the hopes you will come in for the loss leaders, and stay to get the rest of your groceries. The task for the shopper is to come in for the loss leaders and find the rest of your groceries where you can get the best buy.
Empowered with the knowledge of when sales hit, you can now know how much of an item to buy. When a particular item of interest goes on sale, buy enough to cover that 6 week time frame. Rare sales are the ones where an item is priced lower than a normal sale. Something not seen very often. If it goes on a rare sale, as in crazy cheap, buy what you can afford, even if it covers more than 6 weeks. Rare sales happen during the year, but many fall during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season. Many stores are competing for that holiday feast dollar. That's when items like canned vegetables, butter, sugar, flour, turkeys, spices, etc go on really good sales that won't be found other times of year. Budget now to be able to invest as much as possible during that time.
This is becoming a long post, and I know you guys have a life. So I'll just end this here and address the other ways to shop in my next few posts. That way I can go into more detail.
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